Washington Wizards guards Bradley Beal and Alan Anderson attended President Obama’s speech about gun control at the White House on Tuesday.
The idea of having Wizards players attend the speech was first brought up on Saturday, and on Monday, Anderson and Beal were approached about attending.
Both quickly said yes. The Wizards expected to send additional players, but the speech overlapped with their practice. Anderson, who is recovering from surgery on his left ankle, and Beal, who has a stress reaction in his right leg, are injured, so they were available to attend.
The two sat in the front row, continuing the NBA’s recent move into the discussion about gun violence. On Christmas, the league joined with Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control advocacy group headed by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, to produce an anti-gun violence commercial starring its players.
“It was awesome to represent my teammates, and the league, period,” Beal said. “Myself and my family. To stand up for a cause that’s tragic in our world, it was kind of a no-brainer for me to go. The whole speech itself and the atmosphere, it was something different.
“When you’re on the couch and you’re watching it, it’s totally different than actually being there because you feel everything he’s saying. You see the faces of the victims, their families, and you get a real sense of like, ’Wow.’ You actually feel like you lost somebody. That’s just how powerful it was. It was just awesome. It was a humbling experience.”
Beal, a St. Louis native, also mentioned friends of his were shot and killed in the past two years, making the topic personal.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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